New Zealand won all matches with a touring squad of 35 players selected by Head Coach Graham Henry. The first against Wales on 5 November, then against Ireland on 12 November, England on 19 November and finally Scotland on 26 November to complete the first successful Grand Slam tour of the professional era. The last successful Grand Slam was by Australia in 1984 in between 14 other matches.

A total of 35 players were selected for the touring squad: five props, three hookers, four locks, seven loose forwards, three halfbacks, seven midfielders and six back three-quarters, including five new caps.[1]Graham Henry was Head Coach with Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen as his Assistant Coaches. Tana Umaga was named captain for the tour.

The All Blacks started off their tour with a comfortable 41–3 victory over Wales in Cardiff on 5 November, the 100th anniversary of rugby between the two teams. Dan Carter was the standout player for New Zealand, scoring 26 points including two of the five tries by the visitors; Rico Gear benefited from some nice play by his inside backs as he scored the other three tries for his team. Wales had to swallow another loss to the All Blacks, having to wait another year until they could break their losing streak against them which dates back to 1953 when they won 13 points to 8.

Both sides started the game a bit rusty but the All Blacks quickly took control of the ball and position on the field, starving the Welsh team of any chance at attack.

New Zealand struck first with an early penalty before Byron Kelleher bombed the first chance for a try in the 16th minute of play. The eager halfback took a quick tap at halfway, spotted a gap and ran 45 metres before getting tackled downfield. He failed to offload to an open Tana Umaga on his shoulder and a penalty from the ensuing maul would have to suffice. Carter converted to be two from two and put the All Blacks out in front 6–0.

Wales also missed a chance for a try that had to be substituted for penalty because of poor play. Gareth Thomas made it happen with a nice break through a missed tackle to set up a ruck inside the All Blacks' 22-metre line. With players wide, an easy catch and pass game would have got them the try they needed but poor ball handling ended up with the penalty being called instead. First-five Stephen Jones converted it into points and decreased the deficit to a penalty's-worth, 3 points.

Rico Gear scored the only try of the first half after some nice all round All Black play. With the scores at 6–3 in favour of the visitors, Chris Jack took the ball from the line-out in Welsh territory and provided the ball to the backs. Umaga straightened and feed back to Carter who spread it to Mils Muliaina, it was an easy pass out to Gear after that who scored in the right hand corner. Carter converted the sideline conversion and put the All Blacks out to 13.

Wales gained confidence as the first half progressed but the Rico Gear try in the corner nine minutes from the half-time break gave the All Blacks the upper hand going into the second half.

The All Blacks showed no signs of slowing down when they came out and scored two converted tries in the first ten minutes, both from Gear. Gear scored his second, set up by Carter, and third in the same corner as his first; his second came from a nice pass from Carter who put him through the gap and it was an easy run to the try line, while his third was as simple as his first two with some easy passing out wide where Gear got outside his man and scored another five-pointer. Carter converted and New Zealand secured the win with still half an hour to play with a 27–3 lead.

With the game all but over, both sides shifted down a few gears with scrappy play dominating much of the final half-hour. However, New Zealand were the ones who capitalised on it, when they scored their fourth try of the game, coming from a dominant play by Carter who broke an easy tackle and cruised down the line to score his 17th and, after the conversion, 19th points of the match. Yet, he wasn't finished, in the final minute of play he put a kick through for Umaga; Umaga won the race to the ball but went down with his challenger and popped the ball up to a supporting Carter who went in for his second try and then his fifth conversion of the night.

Carter finished with 26 of the team's 41 points and the All Blacks started off their tour on the highest possible note.

Ireland were looking for their first win over the All Blacks throughout the history of rugby between them. The closest they had come was a 10–10 draw in 1973 at Lansdowne Road.

The All Black coaches named a completely different squad than their team that played against Wales with loose forward Sione Lauaki and prop John Afoa making their debuts. Afoa was selected in the initial squad for the Tri Nations earlier in the year but had to wait until the 2005 end-of-year tour before he got on the field. Richie McCaw was named captain while regular captain Tana Umaga was rested. They also named five forward replacements and only two back replacements.

The All Blacks' second test was as good as their first with good win over Ireland on 12 November. The score would have been a shutout, but a late try by Marcus Horan left the full-time score at 45–7. Two tries each to wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Doug Howlett and another 20 points contributed by Nick Evans helped the All Blacks to a perfect 2–0 start to their Grand Slam tour.

Ireland struggled in the first ten minutes, unable to get out of their own half from the pressure the All Blacks applied. The result was inevitable as Sitiveni Sivivatu broke a tackle and scored the first try of the match in the ninth minute of play. Nick Evans converted and the All Blacks were up 7–0.

As possession switched between teams, New Zealand were the first to do something with it when stand-in captain Richie McCaw offloaded to busy halfback Piri Weepu for their second try. Evans missed the conversion, but a penalty five minutes later brought the All Blacks up to 15–0 26 minutes in.

With another penalty in the 35th minute, New Zealand gained a chance at a counter-attack off a kick from Ronan O'Gara that failed to clear the touchline. New Zealand soaked up the Irish pressure and gained possession, No. 8 Mose Tuiali'i broke down the right hand line, passed to Leon MacDonald who fed Sivivatu for his second and New Zealand's third. Evans converted and New Zealand went into half-time with a 25–0 advantage.

New Zealand started where they finished off in the second half with Ireland trying to perform better than their poor first half when Nick Evans kicked two penalties in the first eight minutes from some disappointing play from the home side.

Five minutes after the tackle, winger Doug Howlett got the wide ball and scored what looked like New Zealand's fourth try of the night, but referee Jonathan Kaplan referred to the television match official and awarded Ireland a line-out instead, after it was determined his leg was out of bounds before the ball was grounded in goal. Ma'a Nonu was also called back after he knocked the ball on over the line. Howlett gained what he thought he had five minutes later with the first of his tries as the All Blacks spread it wide beyond Ireland's capacity, Evans converted and New Zealand were up 28–0.

Ten minutes from full-time Ireland took a quick tap and Shane Horgan scrambled over the line but was unable to ground the ball and they were awarded a penalty five metres out. Four minutes later, when the game was all but over, Howlett prospered from another period of prolonged New Zealand pressure and claimed his second try of the afternoon. Another conversion followed, and New Zealand were up by 45 points.

Ireland finally got on the board two minutes from full-time when Marcus Horan crossed the line from an Irish maul. David Humphreys converted, and the Irish left without the embarrassment of a whitewash.

New Zealand finished the game with a dominant performance, not letting Ireland in until the last minute, racking up their second win of the tour and halfway to their first Grand Slam tour since 1978.

New Zealand used four of their possible seven substitutes, with Saimone Taumoepeau coming on to have his first run-out of the tour. Ireland used six of their subs during the game, with only Kieran Campbell not being used.

England provided the toughest challenge yet with only four points separating the teams at the final whistle. England were the most recent team of the four 2005 opponents to beat the All Blacks with a 15–13 victory in 2003 at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

New Zealand named the best team possible for the game with only seven of the players staying on from the last test against Ireland. Richie McCaw was a late replacement after copping a head knock in the previous test, he was replaced by Chris Masoe. It was marked and remembered by the three yellow cards referee Alan Lewis delivered to the All Blacks, who at one time were down to 13 men.

Along with Wales, England were celebrating 100 years of test rugby against the All Blacks, first playing on 12 February 1905.

Staunch defence was a major factor in New Zealand's 23–19 win over England on 19 November in front of capacity crowd at a Twickenham Stadium going through a few developments. With 14 men for the better part of the second half, New Zealand kept the home team to just one try, running in two of their own and a total of 10 successful kicks at goal completing the scoring.

England dominated the early stages of the game, captain Martin Corry running in the first try five minutes in. New Zealand were penalised in their desperation to recover, and England opted for the line-out which got them to the All Blacks' 22-metre line. They completed the line-out and from the ensuing maul the home team scored their first and only try of the match. Charlie Hodgson converted the sideline conversion and the Twickenham crowd settled down to see how the All Blacks would respond.

As the two teams battled for supremacy in all areas it took five-eight Daniel Carter to make the break. Through a weak tackle by Corry on his own 22-metre line, Carter had a two-on-one. He managed to offload to his captain, Tana Umaga, who scored under the posts. Carter converted and the scores were equal 20 minutes in.

After some tremendous defence from both teams, a penalty goal each saw the score move to 10–10 in which was an intensely fought battle, evident in the scrums where England, dominant in their match against Australia a week ago, were being given a much tougher test.

Another penalty by Carter after one missed by Hodgson left the All Blacks with a 13–10 advantage going into halftime after a tough, fast first half.

New Zealand were immediately on the front foot five minutes after the restart with Daniel Carter making another break which set up a platform for Keven Mealamu to barrel over. With the conversion successful, New Zealand were out to a 10-point lead early on.

Another penalty each, and the score at 23–13, England sustained enough forward pressure to force Tony Woodcock to commit a yellow card offence in the 57th minute. England responded successfully with two penalties to Hodgson from some nice line-out and driving work by the forwards. The lead was knocked down to four points with a quarter of an hour left in the match with New Zealand still with 14 men.

A couple of minutes before Woodcock was due to return, the replacement prop, Neemia Tialata, was sin-binned and, for a short while, New Zealand were down to 13 men.

England were still unable to score any points though and with both sin-binned players returning, it looked like the All Blacks would be able to hold out for the last four minutes. However, with England threatening on attack, Chris Masoe was penalised for intentionally killing the ball and was shown the yellow card, giving the home team a shot at the win.

Despite the player advantage, England could not create the opportunity to score the try needed for the victory, and New Zealand escaped with their toughest win of the tour.

New Zealand received three yellow cards throughout the game, and were reduced to 13 men at one point. They also utilised all of their replacements except Andrew Hore. England only used one of their seven substitutes, with Matt Stevens coming on for Andrew Sheridan in the 74th minute.

1.
New Zealand national rugby union team
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The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly called the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in mens rugby union, which is regarded as the countrys national sport. The side has won the last two Rugby World Cups, in 2011 and 2015, as well as the tournament in 1987. They have a 77% winning record in test match rugby, and are the international side with a winning record against every opponent. Since their international debut in 1903, they have lost to only six of the 19 nations they have played in test matches, since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, New Zealand has held the number one ranking longer than all other teams combined. The All Blacks are statistically the best side to have played the game, New Zealand competes with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in The Rugby Championship. The All Blacks have won the fourteen times in the competitions twenty-one-year history. As of the end of 2016 competition, they hold the Bledisloe Cup, which is contested annually with Australia, New Zealand have achieved a Grand Slam four times –1978,2005,2008 and 2010. Fifteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, All Black coaches have won World Rugby Coach of the Year nine times since the awards 2001 launch. The teams first match was in 1884, and their first international test match was in 1903 against Australia in Sydney, the following year they hosted their first ever home test, a match against a British Isles side in Wellington. This was followed by a 34-game tour of Europe and North America in 1905, New Zealands early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By the 1905 tour, they were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, the team perform a haka – a Māori challenge or posture dance – before each match. The haka performed has traditionally been Te Rauparahas Ka Mate, although since 2005 Kapa o Pango is often performed, the first recorded game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in Nelson between the Nelson club and Nelson College. The first provincial union, the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, was formed in 1879, NSW did not face a New Zealand representative team but played seven provincial sides – the tourists won four games and lost three. Two years later the first New Zealand team to travel overseas toured New South Wales, a privately organised British team, which later became the British and Irish Lions, toured New Zealand in 1888. No test matches were played, and the only played provincial sides. The British players were mainly from Northern England, but there were representatives from Wales. The first officially sanctioned New Zealand side toured New South Wales in 1893, the following year New Zealand played its first home international game, losing 8–6 to New South Wales. The teams first true test match occurred against Australia on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of over 30,000 spectators, a representative New Zealand team first toured the British Isles in 1905

2.
Wales national rugby union team
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales performances in the Home Nations Championship continued to improve, experiencing their first golden age between 1900 and 1911 and they first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a golden age between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships. Wales played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third, following the sport allowing professionalism in 1995, Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, in 2005, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam. That was the first Grand Slam won by a team playing most of the matches away from home, Wales won two more Grand Slams in 2008 and in 2012, and in 2011 came fourth in the Rugby World Cup. Their home ground is the Millennium Stadium, currently known for reasons as Principality Stadium. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St Davids College, Lampeter, where he introduced the sport. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881, organised by Newports Richard Mullock, Wales played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal, on 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, however, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had developed the four three-quarters formation. This formation – with seven backs and eight forwards, instead of six backs and nine forwards – revolutionised the sport and was adopted almost universally at international. With the four three-quarter formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893, Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first golden age of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners up in 1901,1903 and 1904, when Wales faced New Zealands All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899. The referee ruled a scrum to Wales and the score did not change, the loss was the All Blacks only loss on their 35-match tour. In 1906, Wales again won the Home Championship, and later that played the South African national side. Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards, two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations and it would be nearly forty years before they achieved a Grand Slam again

3.
Ireland national rugby union team
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The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions, Irelands highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Dublin University was the first organised football club in Ireland. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain, carlow, UCC, and Ballinasloe which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers. In 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed, Ireland lost their first test match against England 7–0 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in match, as was customary in the early years of rugby union. Irelands first home game was also against England in the year held at the Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable. The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878 and it was not until 1881 that Ireland first won a test, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast. Ireland turned up two men short for their game in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players, the first victory Ireland had at Lansdowne Road took place on 5 February 1887. It was also their first win over England, by two goals to nil, on the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil. In 1894, Ireland followed the Welsh model of using seven backs instead of six for the first time, after victory over England at Blackheath, Ireland won back-to-back matches for the first time when recording their first win over Scotland on 24 February 1894. Ireland went on to beat Wales in Belfast and win the Triple Crown for the first time, in the 1890s, Rugby was primarily a game for the Protestant middle class, the only Catholic in Edmund Forrests 1894 team was Tom Crean. Of the eighteen players used in the three games, thirteen were from three Dublin clubs – Wanderers, Dublin University and Bective Rangers – and the five were from Ulster. Such was the level of interest in the visit of the first All Blacks team to Dublin in November 1905 that the IRFU made the match the first all-ticket rugby international in history, Ireland played only seven forwards, copying the then New Zealand method of playing a rover. The game ended New Zealand 15 Ireland 0, on 20 March 1909, Ireland played France for the first time, beating them 19–8. This was Irelands biggest victory in international rugby at that time, their highest points tally,30 November 1912 was the first time the Springboks met Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the 1906 tour game having been played at Ravenhill. Ireland with seven new caps were overwhelmed by a margin of 38–0

4.
England national rugby union team
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The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and they are ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board as of 20 June 2016. England were the first, and to date, the team from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup. They were also runners-up in 1991 and 2007, the history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official Test match, losing to Scotland by one goal. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship which started in 1883, following the schism of rugby football in 1895, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. England first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and went on to appear in the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their 2003 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam, they went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup – defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time and they again contested the final in 2007, losing 15–6 to South Africa. England players traditionally wear a shirt with a Rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts. Their home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910, the team is administered by the Rugby Football Union. Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, Englands first international match was against Scotland on Monday 27 March 1871. Not only was this match Englands first, but it proved to be the first ever rugby union international. Scotland won the match by a goal and a try to a try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872 which saw England defeat Scotland by a goal, in those early days there was no points system, it was only after 1890 that a format allowing the introduction of a points system was provided. Up until 1875 international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored, in 1875, England played their first game against the Irish at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil, the match was Irelands first ever Test. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup and their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardsons Field in Blackheath. England recorded their largest victory, defeating the Welsh by seven goals, six tries, in 1889, England played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives by one goal and four tries to nil at Rectory Field in Blackheath. In 1890 England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland, England first played New Zealand in 1905. The All Blacks scored five tries, worth three points at this time, to win 15–0, England first played France in 1905, and Australia in 1909 when they were defeated 9–3

5.
Scotland national rugby union team
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The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union, the team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 27 February 2017, Scotland are fifth in the World Rugby Rankings, the Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the tournament in 1883. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations, since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off, Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup, each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, and Scotland last won it in 2008. In December 1870 a group of Scots players issued a letter of challenge in The Scotsman and in Bells Life in London, in front of around 4000 spectators, the Scots won the encounter by a try and a goal to a solitary try scored by England. England later got revenge by winning the match at the Kennington Oval. The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878 by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club, the members had decided to disband, the cup was crafted from melted-down silver rupees which became available when the Clubs funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it is competed for only by England and Scotland. The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that time, in 1882 the Home Nations Championship, the fore-runner of the modern Six Nations Championship was founded with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland taking part. Further Triple Crowns wins for Scotland followed in 1901,1903 and 1907, however, Scotlands triumph in 1907 would be the last for eighteen years as the First World War and Englands dominance afterwards would deny them glory. In 1897 land was purchased, by the SFU, at Inverleith, thus the SFU became the first of the Home Unions to own its own ground. The first visitors were Ireland, on 18 February 1899, international rugby was played at Inverleith until 1925. The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield Stadium which was opened on 21 March 1925, in 1925 Scotland already had victories over France at Inverleith, Wales in Swansea and Ireland in Dublin. England, the Grand Slam champions of the two seasons were the first visitors to Murrayfield. 70,000 spectators saw the lead change three times before Scotland secured a 14–11 victory which gave them their first-ever Five Nations Grand Slam

6.
Dan Carter
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Daniel William Dan Carter ONZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. Carter plays for Racing 92 and played for New Zealands national team and he is the highest point scorer in Test match rugby, and is considered by many experts as the greatest ever first-five eighth in the history of the game. Carter injured himself in 2011 during the 2011 Rugby World Cup but was a key member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning teams, in the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final against Australia, he successfully kicked four penalties, two conversions and a drop goal. He was named the Man of the Match, from the age of 5, he played with Southbridge Rugby Club as a half back and would go on to make representative teams for Ellesmere & Canterbury Country. He attended Ellesmere College where he played mostly at first five-eighth, some have said he was a shy and quiet young man who kept grand aspirations to himself. His great uncle was Canterbury and New Zealand half back Bill Dalley, Carter made his provincial debut for Canterbury in 2002, and in 2003 was signed by the Super Rugby side the Crusaders. Initially playing mainly at second five-eighth Carter reached the final of the Super 12 competition with the Crusaders in 2003,2004,2005 and 2006, although they lost the 2003 and 2004 finals, in 2005 Carter had moved to first five-eighth. He regularly played with first-five eighth Andrew Mehrtens before Mehrtens left the team following their 2004 season, in 2005 and 2006 the Crusaders won the competition, and in the 2006 season Carter scored the most individual points for a player in one season with 221. In April 2008, Carter was linked with several European clubs, including Stade Toulousain who in April 2008 offered Carter the biggest rugby contract in world rugby, at £750,000 per year. In June 2008, Carter made the decision to sign a contract with French club side Perpignan. He recovered in time to play for his home provincial union, Canterbury and he then won selection to play for the All Blacks against Australia on 22 August 2009 after a few months of recovery. In May 2012, Carter was the top scorer in Super Rugby history, in June 2003, Carter made his All Blacks debut at age 21 in Hamilton, New Zealand, scoring 20 points against Wales. He was then capped against France in Christchurch, which the All Blacks won 31–23 and he was also a substitute in a match against Australia in Sydney, which the All Blacks won 50–21. Carter was then included in New Zealands 2003 Rugby World Cup squad, Carter spent much of the latter stages of the tournament on the bench leaving New Zealand without a specialist goal-kicker. However, he did play in the games against Italy in Melbourne, which the All Blacks won 70–7, and the wins over Canada and Tonga. Although he has been an All Black since 2003 he only secured a permanent position as the first five-eighth in the team during the 2004 tour to the United Kingdom and he had been playing as a second five-eighths up until the end of the 2004 Tri-Nations. In 2005, Carter starred in the All Blacks 48–18 win over the British and Irish Lions and he scored two tries, five penalties, and four conversions. He ended the match with 33 points, passing the previous All Blacks record of 18 points in a Lions Test, the performance was later described by The Guardian as the definitive fly-half display of the modern era

7.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match

8.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%

9.
Graham Henry
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Sir Graham William Henry KNZM is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the countrys national team, the All Blacks. He played rugby union for Canterbury and cricket for Canterbury and Otago in the Plunket Shield, Henry was heavily criticized following the All Blacks quarterfinal exit at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and was controversially reappointed. He was vindicated, however, when the All Blacks won the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, and is one of the most successful coaches to have ever coached the All Blacks. In 2012, Graham Henry joined Argentina as an advisor for the coaching staff. In 2013, he re-committed to Argentina for the 2013 Rugby Championship and he taught at two schools known for their rugby prowess – Auckland Grammar School and Kelston Boys High School. He coached both their first XVs and he began his career at Grammar in 1973 and remained there – while completing a Bachelor of Education at Massey University in 1979 until 1982, when he was appointed deputy headmaster of Kelston. Following the unexpected death of head master Jim Paton while jogging in 1987 and he held the job until resigning to become a full-time coach in 1996. His first major role was as coach of the successful Auckland provincial rugby team from 1992 to 1997, during his tenure, the team won the National Provincial Championship four years in a row. Henry also coached the Blues in the Super 12 – winning the title in 1996 and 1997, remarkably, the only other occasion the Blues have won the title was when he briefly returned as technical adviser in the 2003 season. His success with Wales resulted in him being given the nickname the Great Redeemer in the media there after guiding his side to consecutive victories in 1999. As a result, Henry gained celebrity status in Wales and he was appointed coach of the British and Irish Lions for their unsuccessful 2001 tour to Australia – this made him the first Lions coach from outside the Home Nations. Following the All Blacks semi-final loss to Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup the All Blacks coaching job was advertised, apart from incumbent coach John Mitchell, Henry was the only applicant and took the job in December of that year. Henry appointed his former Wales assistant Steve Hansen as forwards coach, Wayne Smith as attack coach, Henry also recruited Sir Brian Lochore as a selector. The coaching team was referred to by rugby commentators as the Three Wise Men due to their collective experience. His first Test match as coach was against the Rugby World Cup 2003 winners England team in New Zealand in 2004, England, coached by Sir Clive Woodward were decisively defeated in both Tests. The success did not carry on into the 2004 Tri-Nations where the All Blacks won two, and lost two Tests – they eventually finished last in the tournament. Henry and his assistants were criticised in the New Zealand media for their insistence on using a flat backline approach in attack – which they blamed for a low number of tries. The 2004 end of year Tests where they played Northern Hemisphere opponents was more successful, in 2005 he coached the All Blacks in their 3–0 series defeat of the British and Irish Lions

10.
Richie McCaw
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Richard Hugh Richie McCaw ONZ is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He captained the team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches. He is the most capped test rugby player of all time, McCaw predominantly played in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury teams, but also played as a blindside flanker and no.8. During McCaws career, Canterbury won the NPC five times, as well as two world cups, the All Blacks won seven Tri-Nations titles, completed three successful Grand Slam tours and won the Bledisloe Cup eight times. He made his debut in 2001 for the Crusaders, and was selected for the All Blacks 2001 end-of-year tour and his debut for New Zealand was against Ireland, where he was awarded man-of-the-match. McCaw became a selection for New Zealand, only missing a few games due to recurring concussions. In 2006 he was appointed captain of the All Blacks, whom he led at the 2007 World Cup, McCaw was the first All Black to reach 100 caps, and the first rugby union player to win 100 tests. He is the player in rugby union history with 148 caps. McCaw has also equaled the record for most appearances at the Rugby World Cup with Jason Leonard, McCaws great-great-grandfather immigrated to New Zealand from the Scottish Borders in 1893, and settled in the Hakataramea Valley, South Canterbury. McCaws father still works the family farm and his mother is a local teacher, on New Years Eve 1980, Richard Hugh McCaw was born in the nearby town of Oamaru. He grew up on his parents farm along with his sister Joanna, McCaw started flying gliders with his grandfather, a Tempest pilot during World War II credited with shooting down 20 V1 missiles, when he was nine years old. He played rugby for the local Kurow rugby club as a youngster, but it was not until 1994, when he boarded at Otago Boys High School in Dunedin, that he started to take the game seriously. In his last year at Otago Boys High, McCaw was head boy, proxime accessit to the dux, McCaw came to the attention of national selectors during a 5-all draw with Rotorua Boys High School in the 1998 New Zealand secondary schools rugby final in Christchurch. However, he failed to make the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team, losing out to Sam Harding, Angus McDonald, with Sam Harding moving south to study at the University of Otago, McCaw headed to Christchurchs Lincoln University to study agricultural science and pursue his rugby interests. He achieved all but two papers for his Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree before deciding to pursue his career instead. He received a doctorate on recognition of his sporting achievements in April 2012. In 1999, McCaw was selected in the New Zealand under-19 squad, during that series, McCaw realised his All Blacks dream could be attainable. The following year he was selected in the New Zealand under-21 squad, on 31 March 2001, he made his Super Rugby debut with the Crusaders, playing a few minutes in a losing effort against the Hurricanes

11.
Ali Williams
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Alexander James Ali Williams is a New Zealand rugby union player who played at lock, spending almost all of his playing career in his homeland. At provincial level, he played mainly with Auckland, though he spent one season with Tasman and was loaned out to Nottingham in Englands second-level RFU Championship in 2010. At Super Rugby level, he played for both the Blues and Crusaders, Williams played for New Zealands national team, the All Blacks, between 2002 and 2012. He was in the All Blacks squad for the 2003,2007 and 2011 World Cups, in 2005, NZ Rugby Almanack chose him as one of its five players of the year. Williams spent what were to have been the two seasons of his career in France with Toulon, playing there from 2013 to 2015. He came out of retirement to play in the 2016/17 season for top French club Racing 92, on 25 February 2017 Williams was arrested in Paris for allegedly buying cocaine. Williams did not begin playing rugby until 1998 when, aged 17 during his time in Greenbank house and he played for the Kings College Second XV. He had already represented Auckland at junior level in soccer, tennis, in 1999, he was a member of the Kings College First XV and at this stage he decided to concentrate on rugby. The following year he was named in the Blues squad for the Super 12, following the 2002 year-end tour to Europe, Williams became a regular member of the All Blacks. He started in all four matches in the 2003 Tri Nations Series, French back, and newspaper columnist, Thomas Castaignède named Williams and Englands winning captain, Martin Johnson as the locks in his team of the tournament. At the start of the 2004 season, Williams failed to impress new All Blacks coach Graham Henry, struggling to recover from the foot injury sustained just before the World Cup, he was below his best in the Super 12. Also, Henry was looking for locks who could well in the tight forward role, whereas the athletic. He was called into the squad before the Pacific Islands match, as cover for the injured Keith Robinson, but was not used, when Robinson had to withdraw from the opening game, it was Simon Maling, not Williams, who was called up to replace him. He also started in the match against the Barbarians. After such a season, Williams was an automatic choice for the year-end Grand Slam tour of the British Isles. At the start of the 2006 season, the All Blacks faced an awkward schedule, Williams was selected in the squad to face Ireland, but suffered a syndesmosis injury—commonly referred to as a high ankle strain—during a training session. Chris Jack, who had originally included in the starting line-up for the Argentina game, was brought in to replace him. Williams again came off the bench less than an hour gone